Compression garment combined with a customer fitted protective athletic shield

ABSTRACT

A combination of a compression garment and a custom fitted armor plate is disclosed that protects a specific body part of a wearer. The compression garment is formed with at least one compartment for receiving and supporting the custom fitted body armor plate against the wearer&#39;s body part to be protected. The compression garment conforms to the wearer&#39;s body and the compression features of the garment tightly press the armor against the wearer&#39;s body thereby maintaining the armor in precise position during active and/or sometimes violent sporting and athletic activities.

The present invention is directed to a compression garment in combination with a protective shield and in particular to a custom fitted shield used to protect participants while playing sporting activities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of protective pads and plastic shields for various sports is well known. For example, hockey and football players use a great deal of protective equipment to prevent injury from impacts during a game. Other sports such as soccer and shooting also use protective guards and padding. In the game of baseball, protective shields are well known. The catcher position uses shields including a mask, chest protector and shin guards. Batting shields for arms and legs are well known. A number of baseball players, particularly small children, have experienced fatal heart injuries from a batted or thrown ball, or bat, impacting against the chest or back of the player. Various protective shields protect against this type of injury.

Other attempts are known in the prior art that provide protection to a wearer from impact to a particular body part when engaging in various sporting activities.

The following patents are some specific examples of prior art of interest.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,666 to Hoffman shows a shooting jacket with a removable recoil pad attached to the inside of the jacket.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,529 to Nathan shows a compression shirt used as a carrier for body armor having a plurality of pockets to position at least one body armor insert therein.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,134 to Davis et al shows a chest protector having a custom fitted armor plate mounted in a strapped-on holder worn across the user's chest.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,801 to Kavanaugh shows a body garment made of stretchable material with a plurality of pockets and armor inserts.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,899,738, 5,456,658, 5,480,376 and 6,128,777 to Parker are directed to armor material, and the method of forming the same, used with the protective garment of the present invention.

Applicant's own patent application Ser. No. 11/710,567, filed Feb. 26, 2007, entitled Protective Garment for Sporting Activities, discloses a custom fitted armor plate in combination with a garment made of stretchable material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to sports body armor system that represents an improvement of the known prior art. The system is a combination of a compression garment and a custom fitted armor plate for protecting a specific body part of the wearer. The compression garment is formed with at least one compartment for receiving and supporting the custom fitted body armor plate against a user's body part that is to be protected. Unlike garments made of conventional and stretchable materials that allow movement of the body armor, not only does the garment of the present invention conform to the wearer's body but the compression features of the garment tightly press the armor against the wearer's body thereby maintaining the armor in precise position during active and/or sometimes violent sporting and athletic activities.

Various embodiments of the present invention include chest, back and rib guards and shields, arm and wrist shields and various leg shields in combination with an appropriate compression garment. For example, a compression shirt, provided with a pocket or plurality of pockets, supports and positions body armor inserts that are pre-molded to the wearer's body part to be protected. This provides custom fitting so that the armor plate is exactly fitted to the individual wearer.

It will be appreciated that the size of the armor plate may be varied depending upon the protection required. For example, a wrist or leg shield is smaller than a rib or chest shield. Similarly the compression garment may take the form of a shirt, or arm and leg sleeve or any other part of the body to be protected depending upon the need as determined by the particular activity.

The protective shield is typically with a compression garment along with the pre-cured armor plate before the armor is form fitted to the wearer. The wearer puts the compression garment on the body part to be protected and opens the sealed, air-tight armor package. At this time the armor plate is uncured and therefore is flexible. Exposure to air causes the resin impregnated fiberglass material that forms the armor to harden. Before hardening begins, the armor plate is placed in the pocket on the compression garment and is preferably held in position by a wrap material or the like. The compression fabric of the compression garment also presses the uncured armor against the wearer's body part to be protected to ensure an exact form fit when the armor plate hardens. The Parker patents, referenced hereinabove, describe details of a forming and hardening process for similar body armor plate.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a compression garment in combination with body armor plate specifically shaped to protect a designated part of a wearer's body.

Another object is the provision of a protective shield including a compression garment having shaped pockets to accommodate correspondingly shaped armor plates to protect a wearer's body part.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of custom shaped body shields supported and held in place during athletic activities by a compression garment.

These and other objects will be more fully appreciated with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a first embodiment of a body armor system, partly in section, of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a second embodiment of a body armor system, partly in section, of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a third embodiment of a body armor system, partly in section, of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a body armor system, partly in section, of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of an armor plate used with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a sports body armor system 10 of the present invention. The system 10 includes a form fitting, flexible, compression garment in the form of a shirt 12 designed to cover a wearer's torso while engaging in a physical sporting activity. The shirt 12 includes a front panel 14 and a rear panel 16 joined together to form arm openings 18, a neck opening 20 and waist opening 22. The shirt 12 is provided with a plurality of pockets 24 that are located at the rib area. The shirt 12 is designed for use with contact sports such as football, hockey and lacrosse and any other sport or athletic activity where a wearer is subjected to damage or injury to the ribs and/or internal organs in the lower torso area. When the shirt is worn normally, the pockets 24 are located adjacent the wearer's rib area.

Each of the pockets 24 is sized and shaped to receive and locate a custom fitted body armor plate 26 of the type described in the aforementioned Parker patents and described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 of the present application. The armor plate 26 includes an outer cover and/or additional padding material 28 and an inner substrate 30 that is impregnated with a reactive resin material that hardens upon exposure to moisture and air.

The protective sports body armor system 10 is typically sold with the uncured armor plate 26 in a separate air-tight package. To custom fit the system to a particular wearer, the compression shirt 12 is worn in a conventional way. The sealed, air-tight armor package is opened. At this time the armor plate 26 is uncured and is flexible. Exposure to air and moisture causes the resin impregnated in the substrate to harden and form the armor plate 26. Before hardening begins, the armor plate 26 is placed into a pocket 24 and preferably is held in position by a wrap material or the like. The compression material of the shirt 12 also presses the uncured armor plate 26 against the contours of wearer's body part to be protected to ensure an exact form fit when the armor plate 16 hardens. Reference can be made to the Parker patents for details of the forming and hardening process of similar armor plate material. Obviously when multiple armor plates 26 are used, each is positioned in the appropriate pocket 24 prior to curing.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of a protective body armor system 200 of the present invention. In this embodiment, a compression shirt 202 is constructed with arm holes 218, a neck hole 220 and a waist hole 222 in a manner similar as the shirt described with reference to FIG. 1. The shirt 202 is provided with pockets 224 and underlying shields 226 adjacent the shoulder of the wearer.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a protective body armor system 300 of the present invention. In this embodiment a compression sleeve 302 is shown having an upper arm pocket 324 and shield 326 and a lower arm pocket 324 a and a lower arm shield 326 a. It will be appreciated the compression sleeve 302 may be integral with a compression shirt, not shown, and attached thereto at the upper end 330 of the sleeve 302 to form a shoulder seam. The lower end 332 of the compression sleeve 302 is open at the wrist. The compression sleeve 302 may be separate from any other shirt or the like and worn alone. Similarly the sleeve 302 may cover only the upper arm or the lower arm of the wearer depending upon the protection required.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of a protective body armor system 400 of the present invention. In this embodiment the compression garment 402 is a pair of athletic pants 404 provided with a hip shield 406 and corresponding pocket 407, a thigh shield 408 and pocket 409 and a shin shield 410 and pocket 411 on each leg section of the pants 404. As described above, the garment 402 is provided a pocket 424 for each shield.

FIG. 5 shows the materials used to construct an armor plate used with the above described embodiments. The plate 500 includes a substrate 502 formed of a suitable number of identical layers 504. The layers 504 are placed in an overlying position relative to each other and are positioned between an outer cover 506 and a protective pad 508. The substrate layers 504 are impregnated with a curable resin material that hardens when subjected to air and moisture. The outer cover 506 is formed with a knitted fabric and includes a series of spaced apart ventilation holes 510. The holes 510 allow water to pass through the cover 506 to penetrate the substrate 502 during curing process. The holes 510 also promote air flow through and around the armor plate 500 while it is worn. The pad 508 underlies the length of the armor plate 500 to provide cushioning between the user's body and the substrate 502.

It will be appreciated that the overall size of the compression garment, the compartments formed in the garments and the armor plate may be adjusted to fit particular individual wearers. It will also be appreciated that in accordance with the present invention, a garment may have pockets for custom formed shield panels in any area of the body to be protected. Other changes and modifications may be made in keeping within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. A protective guard system for protecting a portion of a wearer's body comprising: a compression garment providing a compressive force on the underlying portion of a wearer's body; at least one compartment formed in said compression garment, and; a rigid, impact absorbing armor plate sized and shaped to be mounted in said compartment; said armor plate being preformed, contoured and shaped to fit the body configurations of the wearer.
 2. The protective guard system of claim 1 wherein said compression garment is characterized by compressive forces that exert pressure on said armor plate against the body part of the wearer to locate and maintain said plate in position during the execution of physical activity.
 3. The protective guard system of claim 2 wherein said armor plate is multi-layered and combined with a cover and protective padding.
 4. The protective guard system of claim 3 wherein said armor plate is worn adjacent the rib cage of the wearer's body.
 5. The protective guard system of claim 3 wherein said armor plate is worn adjacent the shoulder area of the wearer's body.
 6. The protective guard system of claim 3 wherein said armor plate is worn adjacent a leg area of the wearer's body.
 7. The protective guard system of claim 3 wherein said armor plate is worn adjacent an arm area of the wearer's body. 